Ex-Scotland manager acknowledges Premier League clubs are watching Rangers ace Aribo

Former Rangers boss Alex McLeish has agreed with Barry Ferguson that Premier League clubs are keeping tabs on Joe Aribo with a view to making a bid for his services in the future.

Ferguson previously claimed that a lot of clubs in England are monitoring the Nigeria international.

Aribo is represented by English-based Nigerian agent Emeka Obasi who has close ties to the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Norwich City.

The 25-year-old had drawn interest from a number of Premier League clubs before manager Steven Gerrard convinced him to join the Light Blues in the summer of 2019.

McLeish highlighted that the former Charlton Athletic midfielder is technically good but still learning the ropes in some aspects of his game.

"I think he’s still learning against the ball and things like that, but he’s definitely a guy who catches the eye when he gets on the ball," McLeish told Football Insider.

"His movement, his touch – he looks a very technically good player.

"Obviously he came to Rangers from England, so he’ll be well known to scouts from when he was younger and they’ll be watching him.

"He’s shown a lot of consistency with Rangers and he has the ability to change a game."

Aribo has 19 goals and 17 assists to his name in 105 appearances since transferring to  Rangers, with whom he won the Scottish Premiership in his second season in Scotland.

The eight-cap Nigeria international has less than two years to run on his contract with the Glasgow club.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel